Re ablative paint: I can't remember whether it on was TWL or Passagemaker,
but a few months ago someone wrote  that he routinely uses household latex
for bottom paint, and suggested that it performs very much like ablative
but at a fraction of the cost.

Has anyone on the List actually tried it?

Cheers, Garrett

I just wanted to make a brief report on the OpSail 2000 activities in
Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampton, Virginia this past weekend. What a great
event!  Dozens of the greatest Tall Ships in the world paraded into Norfolk
harbor on Friday, followed by a huge crowd of people (estimates ranged up
to 2 million, but I didn't see that many) and thousands of recreational
boaters.  I have never seen the Elizabeth River so jam packed with boats,
from 60+ foot yachts to canoes!  Sail and power boats of all shapes and
descriptions, with small, outboard or I/O powered runabouts by far the most
popular form of on-the-water transportation.

The Marine Police and CGAux patrol boats were everywhere, keeping
everything under control. The United States Power Squadrons had an
observation barge moored in the harbor for members and guests with a
shuttle boat running to a local marina.

I have to say, of all the Tall Ships that we visited this past weekend,
none was finer than our own USCG Cutter EAGLE.  It was the best maintained
and most shipshape.

Saturday night saw a spectacular fireworks display, synchronized to a
medley of popular tunes.  Sunday night's fierce but brief fireworks display
put on my Mother Nature, accompanied by high winds, downbursts and hail,
broke a barge's moorings to which the several ships were tied, causing some
minor damage.  They were towed to the Norfolk naval shipyard for
inspection and repairs. (None of the damage was significant I heard, but
there was no other place to dock the vessels at that point.)

If you get a chance to visit one of the upcoming events, I would highly
recommend it. The crowds were not as bad as predicted. If you come by boat,
be careful.  There were a lot of inexperienced and not-too-bright boaters
on the water. As far as I know, the only boating related mishap occurred
during the thunderstorm Sunday night, and several people were plucked from
the river unharmed after their small craft capsized.

P.S. as we left on Monday, we followed a nuclear submarine up the Elizabeth
River, presumably heading out to sea. There were no markings on the conning
tower, so I don't know which one it was. I guess they have stopped
advertising this information as none of the 5 or 6 docked in Norfolk had
markings.

Frank Timpano
Hatteras 38 DCMY "Discovery"
Deltaville, VA on Chesapeake Bay